Pistons hope to take advantage of Greg Monroe's size

Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe (10) keeps the ball from going out of bounds near Philadelphia 76ers forward Arnett Moultrie (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., Monday, April 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

AUBURN HILLS -- Teams across the NBA have elected to go with smaller lineups and try to beat teams with their speed and athleticism.

The Pistons hope to take advantage of those teams in the future with Greg Monroe at power forward and Andre Drummond at center.

Monday night, the 6-foot-11, 250-pound Monroe matched up with the 76ers' Thaddeus Young (6-8, 235) and the results were promising for Detroit.

Monroe finished with 27 points on 10 for 14 shooting, 16 rebounds and four assists, while Young had 11 point and three rebounds.

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"Any advantage we have, no matter what player it is, I expect us to take advantage of it. (Monday) you can say it was me," Monroe said. "Going forward if that's the plan I'm fine with it. But however we prepare, whatever gameplan the coaches come up with we'll go with it and that will put us in the best position to win the game."

Pistons coach Lawrence Frank likes to refer to the matchup as a game of chicken to see who can take advantage first and make the other team adjust.

"Their athleticism, Thad Young's ability to run the floor, to make plays off the dribble versus Greg's ability to post him and force help," Frank said. "They played him straight up. ... You give credit to Greg because at the end of the day they played him the way they did and Greg contributed.

"Our guys did a good job of screening and delivering him the ball. But it always comes down to that, when there's going to be a smaller guy with athleticism then it's Greg's size and who can win the game of chicken."

Frank awaits fate

The future of coach Frank remains up in the air as the Pistons get set to end the season at Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

Pistons owner Tom Gores was at The Palace Monday night and spoke to the media, but didn't make it clear what direction the franchise is headed in regards to Frank.

Detroit enters Wednesday night's season finale with a 29-52 records, a .358 winning percentage, which is less than the .379 winning percentage they had last season.

Frank said he has no control over the decision so he is just focused on doing his job.

"I have a great deal of respect for Tom," Frank said. "He's very transparent. Anytime you're in some sort of dialogue with Tom, it's always very clear. To me, I can't decide my fate other than doing my job every single day. I came here knowing what the purpose and what the vision was, and doing my best to execute on that. But at the end of the day that's Tom's decision and that's why he owns the team."

Middleton making strides

Khris Middleton had another solid game off the bench Monday night, finishing with 10 points, two rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes.

The second-round pick out of Texas A&M was buried on the Pistons' bench until late February, but has earned a spot in the rotation and shown potential.

In the month of April, Middleton is averaging 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He's also been very efficient offensively, shooting 57.1 percent from the field, including 42.9 percent on 3-pointers.

"He has an NBA skill in that he can score the ball," Frank said. "I think as he gets stronger, more physical, he'll make more of the contact plays in terms of dealing with screening and keeping guys off the glass. But he has a very good offensive feel. He's 21.

"You have to give him a lot of credit and Steve Hetzel one of our assistant coaches and Arnie Kander, who worked with him. Because anytime you're not in the rotation for that long of a stretch it's easy to get discouraged. Khris has a very good demeanour about him, very good disposition, stayed with it. To his credit when his number was called he's been able to deliver. We think he has a future."

Dave Pemberton covers the Pistons for The Oakland Press. Email him at dave.pemberton@oakpress.com and follow him on Twitter @drpemberton.